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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. staff — employees
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. staff — a stick
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. branch — a division
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cap — a lid
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cold — an illness
  17. staff — employees
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. rule — government
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rule — a law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com